Union members rally against federal cuts to public sector

Close to 100 people stood in front of St. John’s City Hall over Friday’s lunch hour to protest public sector cuts overseen by the federal government.

Close to a hundred people gathered at the steps of St. John's City Hall Friday to protest cuts to the public sector. Photo by Rhonda Hayward/The Telegram

The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) organized the event. Several members of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees were also on hand.

St. John’s Mayor Dennis O’Keefe referred to persistent cuts to the public sector as “death by a thousand cuts with a funeral yet to come.” He singled out federal cuts to the postal service, search-and-rescue, Statistics Canada and CBC.

PIPSC president Debi Daviau said austerity measures are failing Atlantic Canada. She said if the government led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper is defeated in the next federal election, there will be a great need to undo the damage he has caused to the region.

PSAC’s Jeannie Baldwin, regional executive vice-president for Atlantic Canada, credited public services for keeping Canadians healthy and safe and said her union’s members are fighting to defend those services.

Many who attended the rally loudly shouted in unison, “Stop Harper” shortly before it wrapped up.

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Harper and company are destroying the public service of Canada slowly but surely, piece by piece. The biggest question is where are the savings going? The Conservative's economic policies are destroying Canada's middle class. The only thing holding the economy together is the Alberta oil patch.